Take Flight
by Hyatt Insomnia
Summary: During the Hades Cup time period, Sephoirth and Cloud help Riku and Sora into eachother's arms. Shonen-ai themed.


Take Flight  
Rated PG  
Disclaimer: Nothing owned, only borrowed.  
Notes: This story contains shonen-ai themes and the couples Riku x Sora and Cloud x Sephiroth so if you're offended by or just don't like any of those things. I suggest you skip this fic. Also, it may seem a little weird at first but it'll make a lot of sense after the last couple or paragraphs. Also, it takes place during the Hades Cup time period.  
  
It was late at night, just about midnight, as Riku entered Olympus Coliseum. The stars filled the sky with a luminous glow that reflected off of the stands. The silver haired boy walked towards the center of the stadium his eyes filled with determination. "What happened to me back there?" he mused aloud looking at his hands. "I thought I was going to die. I was going to wasn't I?" The vision of his fight with Sora flowed through his mind. "Sora, how could this happen? Why have I been so foolish? I should've told you before. It wasn't Kairi that I've loved all of this time. It was you…"  
  
Slowly he turned around to where his opponent would stand. His best friend since childhood, the keyblade master Sora appeared before his ocean green eyes. Dumbstruck, Riku reached outwards as if to touch the boy but his hand reached through. It was just his imagination. "Sora…" he whispered though he was barely able to get the word out. "I can't believe I've lost you…"  
  
"Your love for the boy is what kept you alive. He is the light in your heart; he is what saved you from the darkness." a mysterious figure called from the stands, his voice echoing throughout the coliseum arena though his body was complete engulfed by the shadows. The figure walked foreword into the light. His black wing gave a small flap as his long silver blew seductively through the wind.   
  
Riku was somewhat shocked by the person standing before him, yet he was also embarrassed by the circumstances he had to meet this angelic-like creature before him. "You're Sephiroth, are you not?" he asked, already knowing the answer, "what is that you want from me?"  
  
"If it is as you desire, I will help you get the master of the keyblade," Sephiroth quickly replied with a hint of annoyance in his voice. The silver haired boy just nodded. "Then take my place." He whispered calmly.  
  
"Take your place?" Riku repeated as the arena soon filled with a violet light in which him and Sephiroth where soon the only things seen aside from it. The fabric of his shirt over his right shoulder began to tear revealing a black 'X' across it. The marking soon began to split open and Riku fell to his knees in pain. Barely able to breathe, he grasped onto his shoulder in an attempt to stop the pain, but soon a white wing sprouted from it. His eyes squeezed shut, he felt as if he could die. Moments later, the pain had disappeared and Riku stood up and gazed over at the spot where Sephiroth stood before, but now he was gone. Before his feet lay a sword, it was long and slim. He remembered seeing it in the silver haired man's hands before. Carefully Riku bent over and grabbed the sword, smiling lightly. "You'll be mine now Sora, after the platinum match."  
  
  
  
Sora pushed on the teal doors of the Olympus Coliseum. He walked foreword to the spot where usually the small round goat, Phil would be standing, but this time there was a blonde swordsman in his place. His back was leaning against the wall, his large blade lying right to the side of him. As usual his bright yellowish hair was messy and unkept, sticking out on all sides. His robes fell over his body covering it up and if it weren't for the shock of blue pants seen at the bottom, Sora would almost swear it was the only thing the man was wearing. "Cloud?" the keyblade master inquired, "What are you doing here? Where's Phil?"  
  
"The way before you has already been set," Cloud replied not moving from his spot. "Will you go on?"   
  
"The way before me? What are you talking about?"   
  
"Do you wish to find the light, Sora?" With a trivial smirk the blonde stepped foreword and sited his hand upon Sora's shoulder. "It is just beyond that path." With his other hand, he gracefully pointed towards the entrance of the arena.  
  
Sora followed his hand, a perplexed look set upon his face. "What will happen to me once I go through?" he asked.  
  
Cloud gave him a hesitant but firm look, "That is for you to find out. Once you pass through those doors, win or loose the battle, you will find your light. Do not fear, it is part of your destiny."  
  
With some confidence left behind from his conversation with Cloud, Sora removed the "closed" sign from the path to the arena. The whole area was filled with a light orange light. It was still dark, somewhere around 4 a.m. The keyblade master tranquilly step foreword towards the heart of the field. There before him stood a boy, his hair was long, just about down to his chin and silver. He had one white wing that was half the size of his body. He wore blue suspenders and a yellow torn shirt. The boy was Riku; only there was something different about him. His aura was giving off a gold glow that seemed to pull him in. The closer he got to the boy, the warmer he felt, not on the outside, but deep inside of his heart. "Riku…" Sora whispered stopping just a few steps in front of his friend.  
  
"I've been waiting for you Sora," the silver haired boy said in an angelic tone that filled the stadium. He turned around, his movements slow and elegant. "I've been waiting a long time. After this fight, I will not have to wait anymore. Remember, I will show you no mercy. Now, do you still wish to go on or will your surrender?"  
  
"I will not surrender."  
  
"Then put up your sword!"   
  
With Riku's last words, Sora called the keyblade, but instead in his hand appeared a large blade wrapped in blood stained cloth. "Cloud's sword?" Sora mused aloud, "I understand, you want to help me find my light. Thank you." He raised the sword locating himself into a fighting position. Sora was having difficulty under the weight of it, he couldn't understand how Cloud used it and still managed to fight with such speed, even without the dark powers.  
  
Riku was the first to strike; the long thin blade he had attained from Sephiroth hit the shoulder of his best friend. Sora was still having difficulty with Cloud's sword. He swung a blow at Riku but the two blades clashed, and with much ease Riku knocked Sora back with a heavy blow to the chest. The keyblade master found it difficult to stand, his chest heaved back in forth as he tried to catch his breath the last blow. He was going to loose this fight before Riku even broke a sweat.   
  
The metal of the long thin sword soon hit Sora's back. It hit once, then again and again. Each blow Sora was getting weaker. He hadn't even touched Riku yet and he was already loosing. "Cloud…is this what you wanted? Is this what's supposed to happen to me?" he asked himself inside his mind. Silently he decided that he was meant to loose the battle and dropped the large blade. It struck the ground with a thunderous clash that echoed throughout the arena. Riku didn't let up; he struck Sora over and over until Sephiroth's blade hit Sora across his chest causing the boy to fall backwards with one final blow.   
  
It was unbelievable how quickly the battle had ended. Soon Sora lost consciousness and began to dream. He was in a place, filled with compete darkness. But there was a small light on the other side. The light was so distant and far off, but completely vibrant and warm. He felt the same feeling in his heart as he did when he first saw Riku in the Olympus Coliseum. Sora walked forward towards the light. It didn't seem to be getting any closer so he began to walk faster. The darkness seemed never-ending, but somehow he had to get to that light. That wonderful light that made his heart feel so great. He walked faster until he came into a jog and from there into a run and he sprinted towards the light. When finally it seemed that he could run no more, the light drew near. It hadn't even been a light at all. A silver haired figure stood before him, glowing with an angelic light. The angelic creature turned around and smiled at him. "Sora," he whispered, "I'm glad you came. Now I won't have to wait any longer."  
  
Then it ended. The darkness broke away and so did the light, his dearest Riku. The best friend he had always known and more so then he realized a rival for Kairi's heart. In the end it wasn't even really Kairi's heart he was after. It was Riku's. Somehow in his mind he had mistaken it for jealousy. If only he had figured this entire situation out before. Maybe he could've saved Riku from the darkness that lived inside of his heart.   
  
As the dream faded away, Sora began to gain consciousness once again. His head was spinning as if he had, had a giant table dropped upon it; it was difficult to see anything. He sat up holding his head firmly. "Are you okay Sora? You've been out cold for the past hour." Riku's voice called to him. It still contained the angelic tone, but instead of challenging it was more soft and gentle. "Why did you throw the match? You could've won if you tried."  
  
"Because I finally found my light," Sora smiled attempting to focus on the silver haired boy, "I found it in you."  
  
"Sora…" Riku whispered, completely speechless. He reached forward and placed his arm carefully underneath Sora's wounded body. Gently he lifted him upwards, pulling him into a warm embrace. He wrapped his other arm around him, trying his best not to hurt him yet holding him as close as he could manage. "I love you."  
  
"Riku-…" was all Sora could manage to get out, for the little space between them was soon filled when the silver haired boy pressed his lips firmly against his friends. Soon after, the stadium filled with a white light, and much like what happened to Riku when he encountered Sephiroth hours before, the fabric of Sora's shirt began to tear over his left shoulder. In place of the "X" on Riku's back sat a red heart from which a large white wing began to sprout. It didn't hurt at all.   
  
  
  
In the stands two familiar faces sat comfortably close to each other. One's hand was atop the others. "Do you believe we did the right thing?" the blonde one asked. "Somehow, it does feel right. It didn't feel right when I was saying those things."  
  
"Who knows, maybe we did, maybe we didn't. Either way they would've found the path down into each other's arms. All we did was hurry along the process." Sephiroth replied sure of his answer. "And now that it is done, there is no turning back. But, does it even really matter? Destiny moves to slowly for my taste."  
  
"I should've realized sooner that I was meant to loose to you."  
  
"In the end you did, and now we are together. That really is all that matters, now isn't it?"  
  
  
Ending notes: I fixed it to where it made a lot more sense, the fight still ends quickly but as you get, Cloud wanted Sora to learn he was meant to loose to Riku in the end as he did to Sephiroth. A few sentences in Riku's section were added, ending was extended and scene where Sora finds the light (Riku o_O) was added. Errr, sequel is in mind, but don't be too sad if it's not Riku x Sora. =9 


End file.
